Elevating conveyer



July 13, 1926.

A 1,592,069 L. N. BENSON ELEVATING COHVEYER Filed Sept. 29. 1924- 3Sheets-Sheet 1 mutue-.--munir 1..-- n. 1

July 13 1926. 1,592,069

L.. N. BENSON nnvkrme couvaan Filed sept. 29. 1924 Sneet's-sneeta31a/vento@ @Wwf `July 13 1926.

L. N. BENSON ELEVATING CONVEYER Filed sept. 29

1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 In/vento@ Patented July i3;

UNITE een..

ELEVATNG CNVEYER. I

Application filed September 2S,

his invention relates to elevating cons and is designed moreparticularly tor 'ng bones ot fruit from the lower lloor warehouse to anupper Hoor ot the same althorgh it may, ot course. be employed in otherfields. The primary object of the invention is to provide a structure inwhich the boxes or other objects being raised will be held against4tilting` during their upward movement and also will be held in a. levelposition while passing around the upper bight ott the elevating chain.Another object oit the invention is to provide means 'for the statedpurpose which will be simple ann compact and easily operated.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. in which-Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevator embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the `line Q-Q or Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section ot the upper end of theelevator;

F ig. 4 is an enlarged view, partly in side elevation and partly insection, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line .5*5 of F ig. 1.

The trame ot' the elevator may be ot any desired or approved form whichwill possess the requisite strength and rigidity. It is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings as consisting of posts or uprights 1 arrangedin spaced rectangular relation and having guide rails 2 secured to theirouter sides and extending the full length otl the same. The posts oruprights are connected at intervals by cross beams of any preferredl'orm whereby they are held ia the proper relation7 and these cross barsmay be in turn connected by stay rods 3, as indicated most clearly inFigs. 3 and 4. Near the lower end ot the elevator trame is provided a.loading platform which is illustrated as consisting` oit rails 4projecting forwardly from the frame and secured rigidly thereto andsupporting rollers 5 upon which the box to be elevated may be placed andmoved easily into position to be engaged by the platforms or littingmembers of the elevator. The loading platform, however, need not besecured to the elevator trame but may be built as a partot the floor ofthe warehouse and may be dispensed with entirely it its use be deemedunnecessary or other means for plac- S24. Serial No. ?'40,632.

aft (3 and upon the said "s 1 are secured "l" around which the elevateing' conveyor chains S are triined. Upon the upper ends ot the uprin isounted a shaft 9 unich is similar lo the shaut G and upon which aresecured the sprocket wheels lll arranged in the same vertical planes asthe resp/tive sprocket wheels T and about which the elevator chains aretrained, as clearly shown. Vertical bracing bars 'l1 are preferablyent-ended between the shatts G and 9 so to impart additional i'c'lity tothe trame and to support the shafts against bending under strain.Extending between the chains 8 and pivot-allyv attached thereto its endsis a rod 12 which constitutes the the ends ot' the carrier rod 12 0uiderollers 13 are mounted thereon, and these rollers, as shown most clearlyin 5, are arranged to ride upon the inner faces ol' the rails 2 whichare provided at the front and back of the elevator 'trame so that thecarrier will f be guided during its vertical movements. ri'lhe rod 12carries a shelj or support which may be ot any convenient or approvedform and is illustrated as consisting of two substantially nF-shapedbars 14 having their sten'is titted to and depending below the rod andtheir heads disposed t *ansversely to the rod and projectingequi-distantly iu front and in rear ot the same, as will be readilyunderstood upon reference to l? 4. The )ars 14 are disposed in verticalplanes and, of course, are pa allel The lower ends ot the stems ot theT-shaped bars are connected by a rod 1 5 which extends laterally beyondthe said stems and is equipped at its ends with rollers 16 adapted7 likethe rollers 13, to ride upon the inner faces ot the guide rails 2. ri'heengagement of these rolls with the guide rails 2 eti'ectually maintainsthe stems ot the shelves in a vertical position 'Inn sprocket beingloose upon t during the ascent or descent of the carrier and, therefore,an object, such as the box illustrated at 17, Will be kept level duringthe raising of the same from a lower floor to a higher floor, andvit maybe here stated that the elevator' may be used to convey 0bjects from anupper floor to a loiver floor.

Secured rigidly to the cross rods l2 and l5 and n'efcrably arranged nearone side of the elevator' frame is a segmental rack 18 Which, as shownclearly in Figs. 2 and el, is concentric with the rod l2 and defines-asemi-circle. Upon the shaft S) at the upper end of the elevator frameand arranged in the same vertical plane with the seggn'iental gear. l8isa pinion '19 -which is rigid with a sprocket. pinion Qlhthe pinion andthe said he shaft and held against movement along' the same by stopcollars 2l in an obvious manner.

il; driving shaft 2Q is mounted in the ele vater frame below the shaftl), and upon the countershaft is secured al sprocket pinion 23 about:Which and the sprocket 20 trained a chain 2li. Upon one end of the shaft22 is secured a` pinion 30 which meshes With an internal' gear 3l whichis secured upon the end-'of theshaft 9. 0f course. when motion isimparted'to the gear 31, the shaft 9 will be rotated and motionthereupon ii'nparted directly tothe elevator chains 8 so that the shelf.or. carrier will be caused to move up- Ward-ly or downwardly relative tothe elevator frame. A band pulley 28 is secured upon the shaft QZand abelt 29 applies power thereto from any convenient motor.

The arms la which, in the present instance, areshoivn as constitutingthe shelf orcarrier, are so spaced that they Will pass bet-Weenthe railsl` of the loading platform andI a box placed upon the said platform atthe end of the saine and iartlv iro'ectinw u To into the space betweenthe front uprights of the elevator frame will be in the path of saidshelf or arms passing around the lower bight ofthe elevator and thenrising, as .vill bereadily understood. As the upward movement of theshelf continues, it ivill be brought against the bottoni of the box 17or other objec' and, of course, will lift the saine'. The boxismaintained in a level position during' its ascent-by the engagement ofthe rolls 13 and 16 with the track rails 2, and it is to be noted atthis point that the said rails havetheir upper ends disposed at thel'iorizontalplane of the shaft 9. rhe segmental gear 18 has a radiusequal to the radirsl of the driving sprocket l0 at the upper end of theelevator. As the shelf reaches the upper endl of the elevator frame, theinner corner or endv of the segmental gear Will mesh with the spurpinion 19 and, as this pinion is being rotated idly upon the shaft 9through the medium of the chain 24: and the sprocket 2l), it will tendto swing the segmental gear about the rod l2 as a center. lnasniuch,hoivever, as the shelf to which the supplemental gear is attached istraveling upwardly and vvill necessarily follow the path defined by thechains 8 to which the rod l2 is attached, the result of the engagementof the pinion 19 with the segment lll will be to nriintain the shelf ina level position during the entire period of its travel up over and thendovvn around the shaft 9. Premature discharge of the box or spilling of'its contents is thus avoided and the handling of the box is facilitated.By referring to Fig. el, it will be readily noted that the segmentalgear vvill be in mesh T.vith the pinion lil din-ing` one-'half of arevolution of the sprocket l() so that the pinion ivill enter intoengagement With the segment at one corner or end of the same and Willleave the segment at the opposite corner thereof. lhe arrangement isespecially desirable in those instances .vliere the bor; or other objectis received by fhe elevator at one side of the saineandremoved'therefrom at the op posite side thereof, as Where it isarranged and practically used to convey articles from an outsideplatform to an upper-floor of a building.

My apparatus is exceedingly simple in the constructiony and arrangementof: its parts and Will operate efficiently at all timos to maintain theobject or box in a level position.

Having thus described the invention, l claim:4

ln an elevator, the combination of an elevator frame, guide railsthereon, a shaft mounted at the upper end of the elevator.. frame,sprockets on saidz shaft, elevator chains trained around said sprockets.a rod disposed between and connected With said chains, a shelf securedon said rod, a second rod carried by the shelf below thelirst rod.rollers upon bolh said rods adapted to engage the guide rails on theelevator frame, a pinion loose on the said shaft, a pendant segmentalgear secured to the said rods and disposed in the same verticaly planeas the said pinion, a drii 'ng shaft mounted in the frame beloiv the.first-mentioned shaft, pinion on one end of said shaft, an internalgear en the endl of thn first-mentioned shaftn'ieshing With-said pinion,and sprocket gearing connecting the drive shaft With the pinion on thelirst-n'ientioned shaft.

ln testimony Vwhereof l my signature.

Lnvfis Noanan'r Benson.

